Bobsled



,0. M. GORDER.

BOB SLED.

APPLICATION FI'LED MN. 7, I921.

1,418,299. Patented June 6, 1922.

oLAr M. GORDEE, or ZTfMB'RoTA,.MTNNESOTA.

sossnnn.

' Specification offietters-Patent. Patented J n 6 1922 T 0 all 'w/wmit may concern:

Be .iij known that I, 'OLAF M. GORDER, a citizen of the United-States, residing at .Zumbrota, infthe county of Goodhue and State of i Iinnesota, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in Bobsleds; and do hereby'declare the following to be ,a full. clear. and exact descriptlon of the 1nmention. such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains-to make and USGythQ same.-

My ,-invention relates to improvements in track with automobiles or-other vehicles of v standard width.

vTo the above ends, generally stated, the

invention consists of the novel devices and combination of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claim. in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, like characters indioate'like parts throughout the several views. Referring to thedrawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the bob sled having the invention embodied therein;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail view in side,

elevation with some line 2 -2 of'Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation wlth some parts sectionedon the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; m Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view with parts sectioned on the some parts sectioned on the line H of Fig. 1; on an enlarged scale; I

Fig. 5 is a plan V16W Of certain of the parts shown in Fig. 4;; and x Fig. 6 is adetail view principallyin section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4, with some parts indicated by means of broken v lines.

The bob sled illustrated includes front runners 7, rear runners 8, knees 9, beams 10, bolsters 11, reach structure 12, and pole 13. Rollers 1 1 connect the rear runners 8 to the rear structure 12 and the front runner 7 to the pole 13. Rearwardly diverging, brace rods 15 connect the reach structure 12 and the pole 13 to the respective rollers 14.. Tie

rods 16 pivotally connect the respective roll-.

The

ers '14: to the front and rear runners. parts thus far described are of standard struotion and width.

I 'TTlIQ- kDQQS portions lTwhich, in standard construction,

9 have wide yoke-like transverse are rockablyseated in longitudinally extended grooves 18 formedinthe under faces otl thebeams 10 andare connected to said b aims 'by'U-shapedbolts 19, the arms of #wluchare inserted-through vertical bores 20 in the beams 10.

dVear ng plates, not shown, are cu-stomariiy the knees 9 and the Referring now in detail to the means for wideniiigtlie bob sled so that. it will track with ;,.automo biles for vehicles of standard width,;I;re1nove;the runners 7-and 8 from the beams10 by detaching the U-shaped bolts 19 therefrom and placing, on the ends of said beams, metallic beam extension caps 21, which, as shown, are rectangular in cross sectlon and project outward thereof. These beam extension caps21 are horizontally and longitudinally split and detachably, but rigidlygsecured to the beams 10 by pairs of bolts 22 inserted through aligned holes therein and the bores 20. By horizontally and longitudinally slitting the beam extension caps 21, the same may be expanded orv contracted to fit beams of different thicknesses. A thir-dbolt 23 is inserted through aligned holes in the beam extension caps 21 and beams 10, inward of the bolts 22, to afford additional means for securing said caps to I I interposedbetween the yokel ke portions 17 of beams '10.

the beams. Outward of the beams 10, the

beam extension caps 21 are provided with vertically aligned pairs of holes to receive the arms of the U-shaped bolts 19am connect the runners"? and 8 to said caps. The

bottoms of the beam extension caps 21 are inwardly pressed to afford ribs 23 that are channel-shape in cross section. The inner portions of the ribs 23 are adapted to bev seated in the grooves 18, in the beams 10, and the outerfportions thereof, are adapted to rockably receive and hold the yoke-shape portions 17 of the knees 9. Preferably, filler bars 24c are placed in the ribs 23 to afford washers for the bolts 22. Obviously, the ribs 23 reinforce the beam extension caps 21 and greatly strengthen the same. The inner arms of the U-shaped bolts 19 afford stops to limit the movement of the beam extension caps 21'onto the beams 10.

To extend the rollers 14 to the increased width between the pairs of runners 7 and 8 l telescope onto the ends of said rollers, cylindrical roller extension caps 25 and secure the same thereto by nut-equipped bolts 26. Nut-equipped bolts 27, which extend through the intermediate portions of? the roller extension caps 25, limit the telescopical movement of said caps onto the rollers 14. These roller extension caps 25 have, in their outer or closed ends, bores through which the tie rods 16 project. lit is, of course, necessary to increase the length of the tie rods 16 by Welding a piece thereon or substituting longer tie rods i'or'thc original ones. The brace rods 15 must also be increased in length in the same manner and preferably, as shown, the rear ends thereof are extended tlnroilgh. aligned holes in the outer ends'of the roller extension caps 25 and are secured thereto by opposing nuts 28. The roller extension caps 25, at their inner ends, are longitudinally split at diametrically opposite points topermit the same to be expanded so as to it rollers of varying diameters. In

case it is desirable to change the bob sled back to its original or narrow width, the beam extension caps 21 may be left in place,

the bolts 22 removed and. the U-bolt-s 19 substituted therefor.

The above described invention makes it possible to increase the width of a bob sled at a comparatively small cost and with little labor. Certain States have passed laws that make it necessary to increase the width of commercial bob sleds, so that they will track with automobiles or other vehicles of standard Width and by the use of my invention, allbob sleds now in use or manufactured having metal knees, may be very easily adjusted. to meet the necessary requirements.

What I claim is v In a bob sled, the combination with beams, front and rear runners, a pole having a roller and a reach structure having a roller,

of beam extension caps secured to the ends of the beams, means connecting the runners to the beam, extension caps outward of the beams, roller extension caps secured to ends oi the rollers, and tie rods connecting the pairs of runners and extending through the roller extension caps.

In testimony whereof I alTiX my smnatureQ OLAF M. seniors. 

